Many foreign TV shows are adapted in Brazil, everything from “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” to “Desperate Housewives.” But undoubtedly, the most popular foreign TV show adaptation has to be Big Brother.
Each season, 14 contestants are chosen from across the country to live in a mansion in Rio de Janeiro. They can’t leave the grounds, and cameras follow their every move 24 hours a day. Contestants have to participate in games and competitions in order to gain “protection” for the week, since each week one person is voted off, based on viewer polls. The winner wins R$1 million, plus a whole smattering of offers from various companies to be in ad campaigns or to be a spokesperson.
BBB, as it is known, has become so popular that local TV stations offer a Big Brother package, where you can buy a channel that shows the cameras from the BBB house twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. And people actually buy it.
Currently, the show is in its eighth season, and only four contestants remain: Gyselle, 24, from the state of Piaui, Natália, 22, from Rio Grande do Sul, Marcos, 26, from Espirito Santo, and Thatiana, 21, from Distrito Federal.
You can also keep up with the show on the official website, which tracks each contestant’s daily mood, fans, and activities. In true Brazilian form, each contestant’s reduced profile includes his or her name, age, hometown, profession, marital status, status on the show, and, of course, favorite soccer team.
The newest TV import, coming this fall, is Brazil’s answer to “Miami Ink”: a show about a tattoo shop in Rio de Janeiro, to be called “Rio Ink.”
Comments:
Isabella:
I actually know someone who pays for the stuff! I don’t understand why Brazilians have this urge to copy everything that’s foreigner (read American). We have come up in the past with good shows like TV Pirata, Os Normais, Regina Casé’s stuf, Cassete & Planeta, etc. But Brazil being Brazil, everything tends to be downleveled (can I say that?) to match people’s low expecations… And who can blame them?
Too bad…
rrgg@haughtmail.com:
To Isabella– It’s not just Brazil that’s copying this show. Big Brother is around the world — it’s the most profitable show anywhere.
CBS.com lets viewers watch previous Big Brother USA episodes free. It would be nice if the Brazil episodes were available online too (not interested in the live feed).
Christopher:
How timely… I saw Jorge Furtado (Brazilian writer/director) at a screening of ‘O Homem que Copiava,’ one of my favorite films, and in the question-and-answer period he mentioned Big Brother.
First, he asked the translator ‘tem Big Brother aqui nos EUA?’
He joked about the absurdity of watching normal people doing normal things and taking some pleasure in it: [mimicking fans of the show] “Eles estão realmente comendo uma pizza?!?!”
Hey, Jorge can’t write *every* tv show in Brazil after all!
giseli amanda silva:
eu quero que a giselly fique porque ela que ta com a graça ali dentro da casa então ela tem que ganhar essa ela além de ser uma vencedora ela vai ganhar ela não pode sair